Pickleball > Politics

“Politics is a lowly servant of great things like joy, friendship, cooking, freedom, music, laughter, and pleasure.”

Over the past two years, my thinking about Christianity and politics has shifted. I was largely able to avoid politics in my preaching for the first eleven years of my ministry. Yet, I always felt uncomfortable with that. How could such an important part of human life be left untouched by the gospel? So lately I have given more sermons and written more articles with a political emphasis.

But does this mean our church is becoming political?

Well, a short answer is: “Let’s have rich gospel political theory, without being partisan.” But I thought I’d balance that political teaching with a few thoughts on why the church should not become overly political. These thoughts come from one of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes. In an address titled "Membership"—which Lewis gave in February 1945, right at the end of WWII—Lewis said,

“As long as we are thinking only of natural values we must say that the sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal, or two friends talking over a pint of beer, or a man alone reading a book that interests him; and that all economies, politics, laws, armies, and institutions, save insofar as they prolong and multiply such scenes, are a mere ploughing the sand and sowing the ocean, a meaningless vanity and vexation of spirit.” (The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, p. 121)

What a relevant word for us in our day. For so many of us, politics has become the substance of our emotional, intellectual, and even recreational life. “Identity politics” means that our political views have come to define us as people. But this is like reading the rule book for a game over and over again without actually playing the game. Politics is meant to serve the ordinary glories of human life and culture. If we lose our connection with everyday beauties (curry, children, pickleball, jazz, novels, friendship—and ultimately worship) and become consumed with American politics, then we have lost touch with the very things those politics should be fighting to defend. 

This is not to say that political theory is not a fascinating and meaningful intellectual world. I meet with a coffee group of friends every Friday morning, and politics provides us with excellent intellectual fodder (alongside theology and life). We are quickly turning into that group of old men you might see at a donut shop every Saturday morning. 

If we lose our connection with everyday beauties and become consumed with American politics, then we have lost touch with the very things those politics should be fighting to defend. 

But in the church, we must remember that American politics is of much lesser importance than basic Christian activities. Lewis says in another place that all civilizations will eventually blow away like vapor, but individual human souls are eternal. They deserve our fascination far more than any senate race should. If we are fierce defenders of religious liberty, but we spend more time and energy reading pundits on Twitter than the words of God in the Bible, something is disordered. We have lost the very thing we are defending.

Lewis’s insight is especially relevant for conservative people. A conservative friend once said to me, “When the government is working well, you don’t even notice it is there. You just enjoy the normal things of life: church, family, friends, honest work, creativity.” If that is the case, our life and church culture should reflect it.

So should our church be political? Politics affects our lives and the church significantly, so likely we need to be more active.

But our everyday lives should be spent enjoying the very things politics should protect. Hence, pickleball is more important than politics. Why? Because politics are only useful if we all end up doing things like playing pickleball more often because of them. Politics is a lowly servant of great things like joy, friendship, cooking, freedom, music, laughter, and pleasure. If pickleball > politics, how much greater are the things Jesus has given us to do in the church? Sing, read and discuss the Scriptures, pray, eat together, share our possessions with those in need—politics is a necessary small thing that is only worthwhile if it is serving these great, common, everyday things. Let's make sure that we in the church keep our priorities straight.